


oh my love, oh my love (will you take me home)

by hearden



Series: Legacy of Power [6]
Category: Power Rangers Samurai
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 07:09:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13141608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hearden/pseuds/hearden
Summary: After Xandred is defeated, Lauren finds that she always comes back to Mia.(A companion oneshot to Second Chance/a companion prequel oneshot to Legacy of Power.)





	oh my love, oh my love (will you take me home)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [UnicornAffair](https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnicornAffair/gifts).



> lauren's tag could always use yet another post-samurai self-discovery fic but w/ additional lauren/mia bc it's a pure and good ship
> 
> also this is... set in legacy universe but idk where else to put it except for in the series itself despite the fact that u kno legacy is tomberly-focused but ANYWAY whatever
> 
> merry christmas, all ur faves are gay and happy forever

_Oh my love, oh my love, will you take me home_

_When I'm lost, when I'm lost, will you keep me close_

_Oh my love, oh my love, will you give me the faith_

_To believe in a fight and carry through the flame_

 

-

 

Lauren is really, really not good at goodbyes, so she tries her best not to do them often.

It’s simple. She packs her bags, hugs Jayden, waves at Ji, and then leaves before anyone else can see that she’s going.

There’s a way about how she says her farewells that feels almost practiced to her. She’s not good at them because they’re not familiar, but the awkward feeling she gets in her stomach at having to give something up -- time, people, places -- _that’s_ practiced. Nervousness, anxiety, reluctance -- she’s felt it all before so many times, _especially_ when interacting with others, that she can predict her own reactions ahead of time and prepare herself. For a breakdown. For a shutdown.

Living under the constant routine of training and practicing the Sealing Symbol had shaped her into someone who lived for routine. Spontaneity, honestly, scared her a bit. Unpredictable. Of course, as a samurai, she was _trained_ to be adaptable and let every unexpected obstacle flow off of her like water in a river, but that didn’t always mean she had to take those obstacles _mentally_ well.

Leaving the Samurai Rangers is easy enough, though. They’re not her team, even if, technically, they are. Even if emotionally, physically, everything, they’re supposed to be considered her team. But, she just slaps a label on the image of them eating their last lunch together, calls it Jayden’s team, and then compartmentalizes until she can’t breathe.

 

* * *

 

The open road is unknown.

Lauren finds that she doesn’t like it, the idea of going where the wind takes her, so she hesitantly asks Jayden for a place to start.

She doesn’t even really know what she’s looking for, so when he asks for specifics or criteria, she helplessly shrugs and shoves her hands into her pockets.

“I’ve always heard Italy’s a popular place to go,” he offers with an uncertain frown, “Or, you know, New York or something like that if you wanna stay in the country.”

So, she heads to New York.

It’s a busy city. A loud city that never sleeps, and Lauren can’t decide if she hates it or loves it. She could go either way, loving that she could lose herself in it or hating that she could lose herself in it.

Jayden had recommended trying the food without giving any specifics, so at a loss, Lauren gives Mia a call.

_“Oh, my God, you’re in New York?”_

She laughs at how excited Mia seems and how she rambles on for minutes after that about wanting to try _all_ the food there.

“That’s great and all,” Lauren teases, a smile on her lips, “But I’d like _suggestions,_ Mia, eventually.”

 _“Oh, fine,”_ Mia huffs, _“Pizza.”_

“That’s really vague.”

_“Well, what kind of pizza do you like?”_

Lauren bites her lower lip, “I’ve… never really had pizza before. Kept in isolation for over a decade, remember?”

The gasp on Mia’s side is absolutely comical and makes Lauren shake her head. _“Mike is gonna flip. I can’t believe… We need to change this.”_

“We? Who’s _we?_ ” Lauren asks, raising her eyebrows.

Mia doesn’t answer, but a moment later, materializes in the middle of Lauren’s hotel room in a puff of smoke, startling her into jumping in her chair and almost dropping her phone.

Not that she’d ever admit to it.

“Us, silly!” Mia says as she puts her Samuraizer back in her pocket, beaming like it’s normal to just… do that. Although, to be fair, Lauren’s always had a skewed viewpoint of what’s considered normal -- that would be absolutely nothing at all. “Oh, I’m sorry, did I scare you?”

“No,” Lauren says, flatly, frowning a bit.

 

* * *

 

It takes them a few hours to find a pizza parlor to check out between Mia navigating Yelp on her phone (“Hold on, I’m Yelping.” “You’re _what?_ ” “It’s an app.”) and then the two of them getting distracted by a million different things on the way to the place Mia finally decides on.

Mia orders them a pepperoni pizza that comes out bigger than Lauren’s head.

“Oh, my God, this is _delicious,_ ” Lauren practically moans at her first bite, and Mia covers up her giggle with her hand.

“I’m starting to think you don’t think any food is bad,” Mia teases.

Lauren just shrugs and takes another bite of her slice, “I mean, anything’s better than the stuff I used to have.”

“You poor child.”

“Leave me alone.”

They eat in silence for a few more minutes, watching other customers bustle in and out of the parlor.

Finally, Mia asks, casually, but Lauren feels like she’s probing for something more, “Why New York?”

“Uh,” Lauren takes a sip of her soda, shrugging, “I don’t know, really. I needed a plan, and New York was… closer than Italy.”

Mia snorts, “So, what’s the plan, then? What’re you looking for?”

Lauren frowns and glances down at her food, suddenly feeling a bit apprehensive about finishing. “I don’t know,” she says, softly.

 

* * *

 

She manages not to die while travelling, despite the fact that Mia constantly calls her and makes sure she’s okay.

“Mia, I’m _fine,_ I promise,” Lauren insists every time, even when she doesn’t _feel_ fine.

The world is, somehow, not what she expected it to be. She doesn’t know what she expected, really, or if she had any expectations to begin with, but she does know that a sort of light disappointment sinks into her chest. She’s still looking for something… doesn’t know what, but she hasn’t found it yet.

“You can always come visit if you get tired of wandering,” Mia offers, and Lauren’s heart does a little twist. She tells herself that it’s just teammates looking out for each other because Jayden and even Mike and Emily had made the same offer before. She’d taken a spot on Jayden's couch a few times, but intruding on Mike and Emily seemed a little… well, Lauren didn’t want to be an awkward third wheel or take away from their time together.

“Maybe,” Lauren answers, noncommittally.

 

* * *

 

Despite her lack of commitment to an actual guarantee, Lauren shows up at Mia's apartment a few weeks later, a duffel bag over her shoulder and a smile on her lips.

Mia greets her with an flour-dusted apron still on, and Lauren smiles even wider if possible. "Hey!" she grins, enthusiastically, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "You came!" Her fingers are still dirty from the flour, and a smidge of it gets caught in her hair.

Before Lauren really knows what she's doing, she reaches forward and fixes Mia's hair. There's a momentary pause after she lets her hand drop back to her side where the two of them just stare at each other in silence. Then, Lauren takes a breath.

"I'm glad I did."

 

* * *

 

It becomes their tradition, where Lauren doesn't even ask if there's space for her to crash at Mia's place anymore because it's ensured that there always will be. She teleports to Mia's whenever she's done with what she needs to do, where she needs to be. Her feet take her many places -- mostly to other Ranger cities where she roams the streets, searching for something that she can't put a name to. Sometimes, she runs into other Rangers that she's previously met at Ranger Reunions. Sometimes, she stays and chats with them, but most times, she doesn't.

Lauren finds that she can't stay away from Mia for too long. Of course, she tells herself that it's the food that she misses -- Mia's wonderful cooking -- and that the smile that greets her whenever Mia opens her front door to find her standing there is just an added bonus.

She never stops to let herself think that _maybe_ it's the other way around, even as she hears through the grapevine (being Mia updating her on all sorts of Ranger business every time she drops by) about Mike and Emily hitting milestone after milestone in their relationship. Lauren does have access to the giant Ranger group chat on Skype -- Mia invited her -- but she doesn't bother checking it too often because she figures that, if anyone _really_ needs her, then they'd find a way to contact her without doing so in a group chat of close to a hundred people.

Sometimes, Mia convinces her to share the only bed in the apartment ("That couch is gonna hurt your back if you sleep on it too much, Lauren." "I'm used to worse." "That doesn't mean I have to _give_ you worse.") and Lauren sleeps as stiff as a board, not reaching out for Mia during the night, not doing anything.

Sometimes, she wakes up with Mia's arm draped over her stomach, but she doesn't comment on it and Mia never brings it up because she never comments on it.

These things just have never been… her thing. The domesticity, the intimacy. It's not that she doesn't see a use for it because she does. It's not that she doesn't want it because she _does._

But sitting across from Mia on her couch, watching her animatedly ramble on about what their friends are up to and how cute Mike and Emily's Christmas cards would look ("Mia, they're not _married--_ " "So? They can still send out Christmas cards!"), Lauren just can't help but think that she wouldn't know where to start when it comes to that, where she'd fit into a relationship.

Hell, she doesn't even know where she fits into the world anymore, really.

 

* * *

 

 _Someone_ hangs up mistletoes in the Hartford mansion during that year's Ranger Reunion. Lauren rolls her eyes and sticks close to a random wall with a soda in her hand while everyone else kinda just either completely ignores the mistletoes or fully indulges in them.

There's a new Ranger team, but they're not present -- too busy being active and most likely unaware that a giant party happens every late November that involves dozens of Rangers shoved into a mansion surrounded by protection spells, courtesy of the Briarwood crew.

"It's not even Christmas yet," she mutters to herself.

A chuckle sounds beside her, and Lauren flinches, huffing when Mia shakes her head at her. "Am I the _only_ person in the world who can sneak up on Lauren Shiba?" Mia asks, smirking a bit.

"You say that like I'm some kind of superhuman," Lauren says, grumpily, slightly miffed that, yes, as far as she can tell, Mia _is_ the only person who can sneak up on her successfully.

Much to Mike's utter disappointment.

"Well, you _are_ a Power Ranger," Mia says, bumping their shoulders together.

Lauren frowns, "Does that mean anything now? We're retired."

Mia raises an eyebrow, "Still trying to find your place in the world?"

Lauren doesn't say anything, but that says everything. Mia knows her too well, now. They've spent too many nights in silence where Lauren just sits on her couch reading or watching TV while Mia bakes or studies. Lauren's never been much of a talker, so her silences have always done the talking for her.

Mia falls silent for a moment, glancing at the ground. For a second, Lauren wonders where all the girl's pep had gone, wonders if maybe she said something wrong, and begins to hastily overanalyze everything she's said in the last five minutes, in the last five months.

"Stop," Mia says, gently, putting a hand on her shoulder, "I know you're doing that thing."

Lauren stops. Reluctantly.

"You want to know your place in the world?" Mia asks, "Something that means something?"

She gives a noncommittal shrug in response until she realizes that Mia isn't talking anymore and glances at her, eyebrow raised.

Mia points up.

That's when Lauren sees the mistletoe hanging on the ceiling above their heads.

Oh, that makes _so_ much sense as to why Jayden had pointedly veered away from her even when she caught his eye and waved an hour ago.

_Oh._

Lauren freezes. Her stomach churns, her chest constricts, and she inhales a breath that feels like shrapnel.

"Lauren? Are you okay?" Mia's eyes are full of well-placed, kind-hearted concern, but Lauren still walks away, disappearing into the crowds of Rangers partying, and runs until she feels uncomfortably out of place under the night sky.

 

* * *

 

About five months pass between the Ranger Reunion that she tries her best not to think about and the Armada attacking.

She stops staying over at Mia's immediately after and forces herself to settle down in Jayden and Antonio's apartment. Getting a long-term job won't give her all the answers to life, of course, but it gets her out of the apartment and away from Jayden's concerned eyes boring holes into her back.

He knows. Everyone knows, probably, or at least the Samurai team does.

Lauren finds that she doesn't care that they know, but she cares that Mia doesn't make an attempt to contact her. She doesn't know whether to feel hurt that Mia isn't reaching out to her or relieved that Mia understands to give her space. It's all… very conflicting and confusing, and she hates it.

Compartmentalize.

Move on.

 

* * *

 

Being a Power Ranger still means something.

She goes back into battle against the Armada.

Not in the main fight, of course, if there really is a main fight. It's a small-scale war all over, but she knows that somewhere on the outskirts of Harwood County, Jayden is leading his Samurai team alongside an army of veteran Rangers.

She hates that she still thinks of it as his team, years later.

It's their team, technically.

She brings her sword down on another Xborg, splitting it in half, and opens up the compartment in her mind where she'd shoved all of her feelings for years and years and years and lets it all loose.

 

* * *

 

The battlefield is in ruins behind her, and it still is not enough.

 

* * *

 

Lauren is teleported back to Jayden and Antonio's apartment in a flash of red light during the aftermath, gracefully landing on her feet. Checking around shows no signs of Jayden and Antonio yet, so she settles for waiting for them on the couch.

Her phone rings in her pocket, and she pulls it out, her hand shaking at the caller ID.

_Answer it, you idiot._

"Mia?"

 _"Hey."_ Mia's voice is soft, quiet, giving away no indication that she'd just fought in one of the greatest battles of her life. _"I just wanted to make sure you were okay."_

Her heart skips a beat. She almost drops her phone but manages to regain a grip on it, faltering, "I… why?"

 _"Because I care about you,"_ Mia murmurs, almost like a whispered secret between the two of them. Something soft, something treasured.

Lauren wonders how long it'll take her to break it and shakes that demon away.

"Oh. Um."

 _"Can you come over?"_ Mia asks, not bothering to keep the hopefulness out of her voice.

"I-- you want me to come over?"

Oh, boy. Is she going to start having a panic attack on Jayden's couch?

Probably.

_"Yeah, I do."_

 

* * *

 

"I'm-- I'm really glad you're okay," Mia murmurs against her neck, lips against skin. It doesn't tickle because Lauren isn't ticklish there, but she shifts a little, regardless, pressing her body closer to Mia's.

Mia moans appreciatively, a low rumble in her throat.

She chuckles, softly, and shakes her head a bit, "You're just--" Lauren forces herself to take a much needed deep breath, "You're just saying that because-- because you've got me… pinned against the wall."

Mia's apartment is dead silent, save for their breaths that come in pairs, one in, one out, both hitched and hesitant, dancing around each other like they always have.

"Maybe," Mia says, teasingly, peppering a few kisses onto Lauren's neck that has her shuddering, "But, maybe, I also care about you."

_Stay calm._

"I--" Lauren's words are muffled when Mia moves to kiss her on the lips, and the rest of her thoughts are lost in the moan that she lets out into the kiss, "Oh, _holy_ shit."

Mia laughs, pulling away, her eyes twinkling. "What were you saying?" she asks, a hint of smugness on her face.

Lauren pouts, _feeling_ thoroughly downright filthy even though her clothes are still a hundred percent on. The wall is hard against her back, but she's pretty sure that, if it wasn't there, she would've collapsed already. "No fair," she mutters, petulantly, "I've never done this before."

"Well, I've never kissed a girl before," Mia admits, and Lauren nearly has a heart attack.

"That makes me feel _so_ much worse, God," she sighs, letting her head thump back against the wall.

Mia raises a curious eyebrow.

"I'm not very experienced," Lauren states in a matter-of-fact tone, motioning with her hand between them, "At, you know, any of this."

The smile that lights up Mia's face as she chuckles and shakes her head as if to say "Oh, Lauren," has Lauren's heart skipping a beat.

"Lauren," Mia reaches up and traces her thumb along Lauren's lips; Lauren has to physically stop herself from groaning. "You know me, I don't care about that," she says, so softly, so gently, like a warm embrace that Lauren doesn't ever want to leave, "I'd love to have any experience with you."

Lauren lets out a sound akin to a whimper.

That she'd never admit to anyone else but Mia.

She swallows her doubt and steels her will as best as she can with a beautiful girl closer than Lauren ever thought possible. "I care about you," Lauren says, taking her words slowly so that she won't mess up, "I… I _want_ you."

Mia nods, satisfied, and leans up to whisper lowly in Lauren's ear, "Good because I want you, too."

Her knees nearly buckle.

 

* * *

 

Lauren traces aimless shapes onto Mia's bare back with her fingers, smiling at the low, content sigh Mia lets out.

"You know," Mia murmurs into her pillow, chuckling, "I like that you won't kiss me under a mistletoe on a normal day, but you'll sleep with me when we thought Earth was gonna be overrun by a bunch of robots."

She rolls her eyes and pinches the back of Mia's neck.

"Ow!" Mia rolls over and glares at her, pouting, "I'm not _wrong._ "

Lauren huffs, "They're not comparable."

"Aren't they?"

"Not really."

Mia shifts and climbs on top of her, casually straddling her, knees on either side of her stopping her from getting up. She chuckles, "I'm just messing with you."

Well, Lauren could get up if she _really_ wanted to, but… she swallows her lust and refocuses on the topic at hand since Mia's already got her thoughts started on that train and Lauren is nothing if she's not a train that latches onto the worst of thoughts and goes with them.

"I'm sorry I didn't kiss you," Lauren murmurs, glancing away in guilt as her cheeks heat up.

Mia frowns and shakes her head, her dark hair shining from the moonlight streaming through the blinds, "You shouldn't be sorry for that. You didn't want to, and that's fine. It's always gonna be fine."

"Well, then," Lauren continues, clearing her throat, "I'm sorry I ran away."

"You're allowed to take space and time for yourself if you need to," Mia counters, softly, "I don't blame you for that."

"I'm--" Lauren starts.

Mia cuts her off, her tone getting firm, "If the next words out of your mouth are 'I'm sorry,' I'm gonna _make_ you sorry."

She closes her mouth and frowns, her brow creasing. "That's not very Ranger-like of you."

Shifting to sit up a little bit more, Lauren pulls Mia into a slow, sweet kiss, keeping a hand on the back of Mia's neck. "So," she asks when they pull apart, foreheads touching, "What does this mean… for us? Are we together?"

Mia contemplates her answer for a moment, and Lauren can see the gears turning in her head. "Well," she says, thoughtfully, "That depends on if you're still searching for whatever it is you were looking for and if you're gonna wanna leave to backpack the world or whatever again."

Lauren swallows and thinks. She can't compartmentalize anymore, not since Mia had first kissed her hours ago upon her arriving at Mia's apartment. There's only her emotions, now, free-flowing and all over the place and… and _Mia._

"I think I found it," she says, quietly, nodding to herself in confirmation.

"Oh?" Mia's brow furrows in curiosity, "What was it, then?"

Lauren closes the space between them and kisses her again.

"A home."

 

-

 

_My love, I know the way, I've walked ten thousand miles to make it through, for you_

_Hold on to light and rest in my heart, know this is my best for you_

_You belong along the road to me, I belong with you_

 

**Author's Note:**

> title from Oh My Love - Silver Trees which is such a lauren/mia song pls kill me instantly with these two


End file.
